"PARTNERS IN SERVICE TO GOD"

TORRANCE'S SCIENTIFIC METHOD IN HEALTHCARE CHAPLAINCY

Abstract

The author argues that "spiritual" approaches in healthcare are based on a Cartesian dualist outlook that is outdated in a Maxwellian-Einsteinian cosmology. A review of the history of medicine exacerbates the dichotomy between the physical and spiritual aspects of human nature. Thus modern healing has ceased to be seen as religious. An examination of scientific method suggests that modern science is more congenial to Christian theology than is supposed by Bradshaw and other proponents of spiritual care. Torrance's doctrine of man is used as an example of how a modern scientific method allows us to regain a proper understanding of the mystery and uniqueness of humanity. The author argues that Torrance's reconstructed natural theology of man allows healthcare professionals to view each other as complimentary, thus allowing a return to true holistic healthcare.